Czech J. Food Sci. Vol. 24, No.

6: 283–287

Sensory Profiles of Sweeteners in Aqueous Solutions

ALENA ŠEDIVÁ, ZDEŇKA PANOVSKÁ and JAN POKORNÝ

Department of Food Chemistry and Analysis, Faculty of Food and Biochemical

Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract

ŠEDIVÁ A., PANOVSKÁ Z., POKORNÝ J. (2006): Sensory profiles of sweeteners in aqueous solutions.
Czech J. Food Sci., 24: 283–287.

Sensory profiles of saccharin, acesulfame K, aspartame, and neotame were compared with that of sucrose in three
different types of water (tap water, commerical Crystalis water, and distilled water) under the conditions of the respec-
tive ISO standards. The intensities of off-flavours, especially bitter and metallic tastes, were higher in the solutions of
synthetic sweeteners than in that of sucrose. The aspartame solution was the sample closest to the sucrose solution,
and the intensity of off-flavours was significantly higher in acesulfame solution. Ratings of the bitter taste were related
to those of the metallic taste, the relation being semilogarithmic. The performancies of different assessors were nearly
the same in all ratings, and the absolute values of the ratings of sweetness and different off-flavours had the same
repeatabilities. The relative accuracy was, naturally, much higher in off-flavours than in the case of sweetness.

Keywords: sensory profile; sucrose; sweeteners; sweetness; synthetic sweeteners

Sucrose, a traditional sweetener, possessing a con-
siderable content of energy, is now often replaced
by low energy sweeteners, especially in some fruit
products and beverages. Several low-energy sweet-
eners possess a common disadvantage of various
off-flavours and after-tastes, absent or extremely
weak in sugar solutions. Metallic, bitter, and as-
tringent tastes were most often reported among
off-flavours (REDLINGER & SETSER 1987). The bit-
terness of saccharin has been emphasised (MEYER
2003). Therefore, the bitterness should be tested
in sensory profiling of sweeteners (CARDELLO et
al. 2000). The metallic taste is often present, but it
was not distinguished from the bitter taste in many
experiments. Off-flavours are usually less pregnant
in mixtures of sweeteners (SAELZER 2004a, b).
Aspartame belongs to the sweeteners most resem-
bling sucrose in the sensory profile (CARDELLO et al.
2003). Recently, the structurally related neotame (AB-
BOTT 2004) – N[N-3,3-dimethyl)-L-α-aspartyl-L-phe-
nylalanine] – was found more efficient as a sweeten-
ing agent than aspartame, but of a similar sensory
profile (PRAKASH et al. 2002).
On the basis of the available literature, numerous
data can be found on the application of neotame
to foods, beverages, and chewing gums, but the
sensory profile of neotame was not compared in
detail with those of other sweeteners in aqueous
solutions. Therefore, we have tested the sensory
profiles of acesulfame K, aspartame, neotame, and
saccharin – all sweeteners having been approved
by Food and Drug Administration, USA (ADA

Supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, Project No. MSM 604 6137305.

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2004), with that of sucrose under the conditions
specified by the international standards.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Material. Tap water contained mineral com-
ponents in agreement with the national standard
(ČSN 75 7121 – Ukazatele jakosti pitné vody.
Vyhláška 252/2004 Sb., Ministry of Health CR,
22. 4. 2004): at least 30 mg/l Ca (the recommended
content 40–80 mg/l) and at least 10 mg/l Mg (the
recommended value 20–30 mg/l). Commercial
potable water Crystalis (supplied by Crystalis,
s.r.o., Prague, Czech Republic), supplied from
Teplice-Aderšpach Rocks, Police n. M., Czech
Republic, contained 34.0 mg/l Ca, 6.1 mg/l Mg,
2 mg/l Na, 7.5 mg/l NO 3–, and 128.0 mg/l HCO 3–,
the total mineral content 208 mg/l. Distilled water
was prepared in an all-glass apparatus.
The following sweeteners were used: sucrose p.a.
(Lach-Ner, s.r.o., Neratovice, Czech Republic),
saccharin Na , acesulfame K and aspartame (all
the above sweeteners, purity higher than 99%
dry matter, Urseta, s.r.o., Doksy u Kladna, Czech
Republic), and neotame (The Nutrasweet Co.,
Augusta, USA).
Sensory analysis. The test room was equipped
according to the requirements of the international
standard (ISO 8589 – Sensory analysis – General
guidance for the design of test rooms). Three or
four samples were served at a session, each time
30 ml of sample in a 50 ml coded beaker, served at
random order. The sample was ingested, moved in
the mouth for 5–6 s by movements of the tongue,
Metallic taste (p.c.)
Bitter taste (p.c.)
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Czech J. Food Sci.
and swallowed. Flavour intensities were rated after
swallowing. After mouth washing with water and
waiting for 20 s, the second sample was evaluated. The
sample serving was in agreement with the respective
international standard (ISO 6658 – Sensory analysis
– Methodology – General guidance). The sensory
profile (ISO 6564 – Sensory analysis – Flavour profile
methods) consisted of four descriptors (sweet, bitter,
sour, metallic), rated on an unstructured graphical
scale (ISO 4121 – Sensory analysis – Methodology
– Evaluation of food products by methods using
scales), represented by a straight line 100 mm long,
oriented by the description at the two ends (0% =
imperceptible; 100% = extremely strong). Rank tests
were performed using the international standard
(ISO 8587 – Sensory analysis – Ranking). The asses-
sors were selected, trained, and monitored accord-
ing to the respective standard (ISO 8586 – Sensory
analysis – General guidance for the selection, training
and monitoring of assessors – selected assessors);
they had experience in sensory profiling of a year
at least. They were trained for the special task after
DUBOIS et al. (1991).
Statistical analysis. The two-way analysis of
variance, the one-way ANOVA, were applied using
the software Microsoft Statistica 7.0; the probability
level was fixed at P = 0.95. The ranking evaluation
was performed after Kramer (BARYŁKO-PIKIELNA
1975).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
All samples were tested 20 times under the same
conditions using the same panel of assessors. The
Figure 1. Relationships between bitter
and metallic off-flavours in solutions
of sweeteners (expressed in % of the
graphical scale)
Czech J. Food Sci. Vol. 24, No. 6: 283–287

Table 1. Sensory profiles of sweeteners

Water Sweetener Sweet taste Bitter taste Acid taste Metallic taste
aucrose 82 ± 8 7±2 7±2 11 ±3
saccharin 62 ± 4 25 ± 3 12 ± 3 28 ± 4
acesulfame 69 ± 2 31 ± 4 7±2 33 ± 4
Tap water
aspartame 69 ± 3 4±1 6±1 15 ± 2
neotame 76 ± 3 22 ± 4 14 ± 3 29 ± 4
blank 2±1 3±1 5±2 10 ± 2
aucrose 72 ± 2 6±2 12 ± 1 9±1
saccharin 73 ± 3 12 ± 2 10 ± 2 23 ± 3
acesulfame 65 ± 3 29 ± 5 7±2 31 ± 4
Crystalis
aspartame 72 ± 2 9±2 4±1 19 ± 3
neotame 75 ± 2 18 ± 3 9±2 30 ± 4
blank 1±1 1±1 1±1 2±1
aucrose 71 ± 2 4±1 10 ± 2 8±2
saccharin 74 ± 3 18 ± 3 11 ± 3 29 ± 3
acesulfame 69 ± 3 28 ± 4 7±2 35 ± 5
Distilled water
aspartame 70 ± 2 12 ± 1 4±1 21 ± 3
neotame 68 ± 3 16 ± 3 11 ± 3 37 ± 3
blank 2±1 6±2 3±1 12 ± 2
aucrose 75 ± 6 6±2 10 ± 2 9±2
saccharin 69 ± 6 18 ± 5 11 ± 3 27 ± 3
acesulfame 68 ± 3 29 ± 3 7±1 32 ± 3
Mean values
aspartame 70 ± 3 7±2 5±1 18 ± 3
neotame 73 ± 3 17 ± 3 11 ± 3 32 ± 3
blank 2±1 3±1 3±1 8±1

solutions of sweeteners were tested in three types of
water (tap water, water Krystalis, and distilled water),
and the respective water was tested for comparison.
The concentrations of sweeteners corresponded ap-
proximately to 9% sucrose (the reference sample), i.e.
0.257 g/l in the case of saccharin, 0.45 g/l in the case
of acesulfame K, 0.45 g/l in the case of aspartame,
and 0.011 g/l in the case of neotame. The solutions
were prepared immediately before testing, and were
tested at 23°C. The responses were based on litera-
ture data (TUNALEY et al. 1987), but the sweetness
responses were not exactly those of sucrose solutions
as they depended on the water used. Nevertheless,
they were not significantly different in the three
solvents tested (Table 1); the exact agreement could
not be expected. Nevertheless, substantial bitter and
metallic off-flavour notes were observed in the case
of all sweeteners, they were the lowest, however, in
the case of aspartame, in agreement with the litera-
ture (CARDELLO et al. 2003). Neotame was found
always slightly less favourable from the standpoint
of off-flavours than aspartame.
The intensities of metallic and bitter tastes were
interrelated (Metallic = 24.3 log Bitter – 3.1; R 2 =
0.79; N = 18), the relationship being semilogarith-
mic (Figure 1). The high correlation coefficient
shows that the dependence was very close, and in
some cases, it was probably not possible to dis-

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Table 2. Average differences between two results of sensory ratings

Sweetener Sweet taste Metallic taste Bitter taste

Sucrose 6 5 6
Saccharin 15 14 12
Acesulfame 12 15 18
Aspartame 9 7 6
Neotame 11 16 14
Mean value 11 11 11

Expressed in % of the graphical scale

Table 3. Average differences obtained by rating the same solutions by different assessors

Taste Assessor A Assessor B Assessor C Assessor D Assessor E Assessor F Mean value

Sweet 12 10 10 8 11 9 10
Metallic 12 10 9 19 12 12 12
Bitter 12 10 12 12 10 10 11
Mean 12 10 10 13 11 11 11

Expressed in % of the graphical scale

tinguish clearly between the two tastes. The values
of off-flavours obtained in our experiments were
moderately higher than those reported by other
authors (PRAKASH et al. 2002; NOFRE & TINTI
2000). The probable reason was that in our experi-
ments, the assessors were more concentrated on
the evaluation of off-flavours.
No significant differences were observed among
the ratings of the sensory profiles in the three dif-
ferent brands of water used as solvents.
The average differences between two results
on rating the same solution by different asses-
sors are given in Table 2. The lowest values were
obtained in the case of sucrose and aspartame,

Table 4. Significance of difference between sweeteners in intensities of off-flavours

Sucrose Saccharin Acesulfame Aspartame

Metallic taste
Neotame + – – +
Aspartame + + +
Acesulfame + –
Saccharin +
Acidic taste
Neotame – – – –
Aspartame – – +
Acesulfame – –
Saccharin –
Bitter taste
Neotame + – + +
Aspartame – – +
Acesulfame + –
Saccharin +

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the latter being the sweetener closest to sucrose
in its character (CARDELLO et al. 2000). No sub-
stantial differences were found between saccharin,
acesulfame and neotame.
The performances of the individual assessors
were tested as well (Table 3). No significant dif-
ferences were found, probably due to the long
experience of the assessors. Their ratings could
be thus considered as reliable.
Statistical differences between the ratings of
off-flavours are shown in Table 4. The ratings of
the bitter taste of the synthetic sweeteners were
higher than in the case of sucrose solutions (very
low bitter taste). Aspartame solutions were less
bitter than those of other sweeteners, and acesul-
fame solutions were bitterer, similarly as it was
reported in the literature (CARDELLO et al. 2000).
The bitterness of neotame solution was slightly
higher than that of aspartame solution, and simi-
lar to that of saccharin, however, still lower than
that of acesulfame. The acidity was not important
in evaluating synthetic sweeteners. In the case of
the metallic taste, all synthetic sweeteners differed
from the sucrose solution; the aspartame solution
had more intensive metallic taste than the sucrose
solution but less intensive than those of all other
synthetic sweeteners. The ranking test (6 cases,
three replications) showed that the off-tastes were
lower in water and in sucrose solutions, but signifi-
cantly higher in the case of synthetic sweeteners.
All solutions differed from that of the acesulfame
solution, in which it was the highest.
CONCLUSIONS
Bitter and metallic off-tastes of neotame solution
were more intensive than those of sucrose solu-
tions, of the same order as in case of aspartame
and saccharin solutions, and less intensive than in
acesulfame solutions. The three types of water used
for dissolving the sweeteners yielded similar values.
The absolute accuracy of the off-flavour ratings was
about the same as that of the sweetness rating.
Corresponding author:
ALENA ŠEDIVÁ, MSc., Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze, Fakulta potravinářské a biochemické technologie,
Ústav chemie a analýzy potravin, Technická 5, 166 28 Praha 6, Česká republika
tel.: + 420 220 443 263, fax: + 420 233 339 990, e-mail: jan.pokorny@vscht.cz
Vol. 24, No. 6: 283–287
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Received for publication February 13, 2006
Accepted after corrections May 24, 2006
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